Sebastian County trail, park work continues; officials seek ‘great natural environment’

As the Sebastian County Director of Parks and Golf, Jay Randolph is confident that if you build and sustain a robust trail system that connects cities and other locations in the county, people from all around the state and country will utilize them.

“When you have great trails, a great natural environment, people will come,” Randolph said. “One thing that’s very obvious — the second largest industry in the state of Arkansas is tourism, so we’ve already got lots of folks coming into the state to see our natural beauty.”

Randolph and other key partners — including the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA), city of Greenwood, and Sebastian County Judge’s Office — have partnered the last few years to discuss developing a master plan for a south Sebastian County greenway trail system that connect trails at Fort Chaffee to Sebastian County and then to the city of Greenwood and beyond.

The plan is for the partners to reconvene this month to discuss applying for another federal grant that would assist with developing a master plan to connect the parks. The goal is to build a paved surface trail that would be bicycle and pedestrian friendly, something Greenwood Mayor Doug Kinslow welcomes.

“The health benefit, the walkability, I don’t think it’s just a fad anymore,” Kinslow said. “It’s truly something important to the community. Anytime you can connect cities, towns, or communities together, there’s always an opportunity for economic development.”

“We’ve all heard about the trail systems in Northwest Arkansas being ranked top in the nation, and now we have a $48 million bike project under construction south of us at Mena,” said Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz. “It only makes sense to bridge the gap between these two biking destinations by providing trails through the River Valley. Tourism is the second largest industry in Arkansas. These two biking destinations north and south of us will attract biking enthusiasts from across the nation and beyond.”

A comprehensive trail system, however, is more than just an economic development draw.

“A robust trail system will be a benefit to our citizens as well,” Hotz said. “Providing outdoor recreation promotes a healthy lifestyle and activities our citizens seek and enjoy.”

For the Fort Chaffee area, connecting trails is a win-win for the ever-evolving area.

“Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA) has a long history of partnering with Sebastian County, City of Fort Smith, ArcBest, and Arkansas Colleges of Health Education on implementing the Chaffee Crossing master trails plan,” said Daniel Mann, FCRA executive director and CEO. “To date there are well over 30 miles of trails within Chaffee Crossing and Ben Gerren Park connecting thousands of new residents, workers, businesses, and other outdoor recreational opportunities.”

Mann said new residential areas in Chaffee Crossing see an increased value of between 5% and 10% when trail access is available.

TRAILS, BEN GEREN UPGRADES
In addition to the plans to develop an interconnected greenway, Randolph has made improving other Sebastian County parks a priority. In the past few years, several upgrades have been made to Ben Geren Park on Zero Street in Fort Smith. A county park with 1,300 acres and 21 miles of trails, Ben Geren Park connects into the city of Fort Smith’s trail system and into Fort Chaffee’s.

Randolph said two short mountain bike trails — Hobo Hill and Rollercoaster — were redone two years ago. While a master plan has been developed for some of the soft surface, or nonpaved, trails, money has not been budgeted for that project.

The county recently received a 50/50 matching grant of $164,772 from the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism to install a restroom and a parking lot in the middle section of the park off Massard Road in Fort Smith. Randolph said plans are to finish the structure by May 2026.

In addition to the planned restroom, a drainage project at Ben Geren Park has been completed, and 10 of 12 softball fields opened a year ago. This spring, there are tournaments almost every weekend, Randolph said, with many visitors staying in the area over the weekend. In addition to the softball fields, eight new pickleball courts were installed at the park last year.

“We hope to expand within the next two to three years to eight more courts,” Randolph said.

Work recently began to replace the six tennis courts that have been at the park since 1972. Instead, 12 new courts will be built.

“This too will add many new tournaments, leagues, etc., to the park and community, increasing tourism dollars in Sebastian County,” Randolph said.

The tennis court work cost $3.2 million, with about $2.2 million paid by the county. The pickleball courts cost $700,000, with that being paid by the county. The drainage work and other upgrades cost about $3.1 million, with that being paid with federal dollars.

BOYER PARK PLANS
In addition to a renewed focus on connecting Ben Geren Park to nearby trails, Randolph also is focused on making improvements to Bob Boyer Park. Located on Highway 45 in Midland, the 500-acre park includes several soft trails for equestrian use and hikers, and includes numerous waterfalls ranging from 5 feet to up to 60 feet.

Also home to some rare and native plant species, as well as varying terrain and a unique ecosystem, Bob Boyer Park has drawn visitors since its inception in 1979. A master plan has been developed for the park, and thanks to an Arkansas Department of Transportation grant, plans are to begin creating a 1.65-mile trail in the middle of the park for equestrians and hikers, Randolph said. The soft surface trail will be 8 feet wide and will start at the parking lot located at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain below Midland Peak and go toward the middle of the park.

Once the trail is finished, hopefully by early fall, Randolph said plans are to begin on phase two, which will develop 1.87 miles of trail that will start at the end of the trail developed in the first phase. After phase two is complete, Randolph said the third phase will begin connecting the end of the trail developed in phase one to Hideout Falls and Annetta’s Lookout for an additional 1.85 miles.

The phase two and three trails will be soft surface trails that will be smaller — approximately 2 to 3 feet wide — than the trail developed in phase one. After the three phases are complete, Randolph said there are plans to connect to existing equestrian trails.

“If everything goes well with phase one, we can start phase two and three by early fall or next winter and have them complete by early spring of next year,” Randolph said.

The three phases are estimated to cost about $491,000, with about $360,000 paid with state dollars.

The connections from there are endless. Two to three years ago the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission contacted Randolph regarding the development of a Memorandum of Understanding that would connect the commission’s 1,200 acres to Bob Boyer Park at the Midland Peak Natural Area for hikers only. Randolph said on the other side of that area when going west, there also are opportunities to tie into Arkansas Game and Fish land at Sugarloaf Lake.

“We’re talking about almost 2,000 acres of wonderful, pristine, natural areas that people can explore,” he said.